Bush plane - Definition and Overview

A Citabria Scout. Note the giant tires, for use on rocky surfaces.

A bush plane is a general aviation aircraft serving remote, undeveloped areas of a country, usually the African bush, Alaskan and Canadian tundra or the Australian Outback. The most common bush planes are the Piper Super Cub, Douglas DC-3, and De Havilland Beaver, although countless other aircraft types serve in these hostile regions.

Common traits

• High wings provide improved ground visibility during flight and greater distance between the bush and the wing during landing.

• Conventional landing gear, referred to as a 'taildragger' arrangement, allows for added prop clearance over rough-surfaced runways. Bush pilots are often proud of the fact that most of their landings are logged in taildraggers.

• High-lift devices such as flaps, vortex generators, and leading-edge slats improve low speed flight characteristics.

• Very large low pressure tires enable the pilot to land and take off in unimproved areas. It is not uncommon for a bush pilot to land (and take off) where no airplane has been before.

• Removable floats and skiis permit operation on water or snow.